


Rain

by LadySalamander



Series: Summer Gladnis Week 2019 [6]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Camping, M/M, Mild Angst, Summer Gladnis Week, Thunderstorms
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-17
Updated: 2019-08-17
Packaged: 2020-09-06 07:56:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,185
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20288059
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadySalamander/pseuds/LadySalamander
Summary: Summer Gladnis Week Day 6: thunderstorms; melancholy, comfortableIgnis and Gladio watch a thunderstorm from the comfort of their tent.





	Rain

The thunder woke Ignis first, keen hearing and a decade of living on the edge jolting him out of his slumber. He waited, steadying his breath, until the thunder rolled again. Beside him, he could hear the shift in Gladio's breathing as he too was awakened.

"Hear something?" He whispered.

"Its just -" Gladio was answered first by the whisper and then by the rattle of rain as a heavy downpour swept into their campsite. "-a thunderstorm," Ignis finished, slumping back into the nest of sleeping bags they were calling a bed. He'd rolled away from Gladio in his sleep, probably because he was too hot, but now that the humidity was beginning to break he took the opportunity to nose closer. The thunder rumbled again, nearer this time.

"Lightning?" Ignis asked.

"Yeah," Gladio confirmed.

They lay there for a few minutes, listening to the thunder and the rain. Gladio was delightfully comfortable, but sleep, somehow, did not want to return.

"Mm, what time is it?" Ignis mumbled.

"Early," said Gladio. "Its actually light out, just not light enough for you to tell." Ignis grumbles. His internal clock didn't want to be on vacation, it seemed, and there was no chance of coffee until the storm had passed. Well, at least he could luxuriate is the arms of his love for a while. His love, who was getting up, apparently, and unzipping the tent.

"What are you doing?" Ignis complained. It came off a lot more petulant than he wanted, but at least it got the point across.

"I want to watch," said Gladio, opening the tent flap, letting in the cool morning air and the scent of rain. Despite himself, Ignis breathed deep of the clean smell of rain and wet grass. It had been comforting, in the first few years of the Long Night. A reminder that the world could still be dynamic, and pure. But as the years wore on and all things green withered without the sun, the rain increasingly brought the smell of ash and rust, clogging Ignis throat. Lightning flashed again, bright enough this time that Ignis could catch a glimpse. Ignis breathed deep. No more ash. Ozone, wet grass, Gladio. The man himself lay down on his stomach and propped his chin on his arms, watching the rain. Ignis, still in his sleeping bag, maneuvered around so he could keep laying beside him. Outside nature rumbled and crackled, another sheet of lightning painting the grey sky white and purple before vanishing as suddenly as it had appeared. A gust of wind grabbed at the trunks of the tree near their tent, and the wood moaned in protest. Gladio stiffened.

“What is it, love?”

“Damn that’s creepy,” said Gladio. “There’s some kinda like, blue lightning coming from over the hill.” The wind gusted again, pressing at the back of the tent and the tree cried out once more. A sly smile spread of Ignis’ lips. 

“Maybe its haunted.”

“What?”

“You were wondering why no one comes out here. Maybe it’s haunted by the ghosts of lovers killed by daemons in the night.”

“Dude, don’t even.”

“Fleeing from the pressures of family and their city life, two lovers find an idyllic getaway. They fall asleep in each other’s arms, only to awaken at nightfall to find they’ve trespassed on the lair of the terrifying Yojimbo!” 

“Please, Iggy, stop.” Gladio rolled over and wrapped an arm around Ignis’ waist. He didn’t like thinking about how that could have been them any time in the past ten years. How close a love story could come to tragedy. Any time, ripped apart by demons.

“Silly me,” Ignis apologized, running a comforting hand through Gladio’s hair. The storm was as close as it would come by now, thunder and lighting ripping through the clouds almost above their heads. Maybe they should be afraid, thought Ignis. But it was not too long ago that the world had worse things to offer than thunderstorms, that romance could have become tragedy at the drop of a hat, the slip of a foot, the miscalculation of timing…

"Holy shit," whispered Gladio.

"What is it?"

"Forget Yojimbo, there's a coeurl, up on the hill! They hunt during thunderstorms?"

"If there's lightning, yes." The coeurl stood at the highest point, waving its whiskers through the charged air. They were so full they glowed, causing the eerie blue light. Gladio reached for his bag, the emergency flare tucked in the bottom. It was enough to scare it off, he knew, long enough for them to break camp. Gods forbid he'd had to do it enough times before. With darkness overhead and prey scarce, many coeurl had taken a liking to chewing on power lines, which meant keeping guard for repair crews. But no one killed them if they didn't have to. It wasn't like they wanted them _extinct_. The animal looked at them, decided they weren't worth it, and slipped away behind the hill. If it had survived the Night, it probably knew when to pick a fight.

Gladio rested his head back in his arms. They lay in the tent, cozy together while the storm whipped by around them. Would have been much nicer with a cup of coffee, Ignis thought, or even cocoa.

"Why did you want to watch the storm?" He asked.

"I've always liked watching storms, you know that."

"Yes, but I don't think I've ever asked why."

Gladio shifted. "Thunderstorms are kinda scary. They were always sort of muted, Before, in Insomnia with the wall, so you'd have to get out of the city to really appreciate them, really appreciate the power of nature. You-" he chuckled, "you remember that one night in Duscae and that storm rolled in and you didn't want to drive so we went to Kenny's and you kept shouting at Noct to _stay inside and finish lunch for pity's sake!_ I think that was the first time he'd seen a storm outside of the wall." Ignis was quiet for a few moments.

"It was mine," he said. "The longest I had been outside of Insomnia was for survival training, and we were blessed with good weather. I had no idea; that's why I was afraid to drive."

"Ha! Really? Could have fooled me."

"I learned to like them. You certainly never seemed very concerned, and there were also definitely worse things to be concerned about. I came to … enjoy the reprieve."

The storm was abating now, blowing by a few miles to the south. 

"I'm glad," said Gladio.

"What, that we came out here?" Ignis tried insinuate himself even closer, even though that was pretty hard at this point.

"Well yeah, that, but also that … nature is still sort of scary. Its still thrilling to watch a storm."

"I'm still more grateful for a safe place to watch it from," said Ignis, delighted by the rumble of Gladio's low laughter.

“Bet you’d be happier with a cup of coffee in your hands, huh.” Ignis kissed his shoulder.

“There will be lots of time for coffee, love. Let’s enjoy it while it lasts.”


End file.
